ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Album Notes

With a catalog that dates back to 2001, Zo! has generated creative interest by completing eight different projects between 2001 to March of 2006. He has had the pleasure of working with artists such as Little Brother, Kev Brown, Platinum Pied Pipers, Sy Smith, YahZarah, Asheru, and Slum Village. The work he completed with Phonte of Little Brother lead to production oppurtunities on the upcoming Foreign Exchange 'Leave It All Behind' ("If She Breaks Your Heart") album along with Little Brother's 'Getback' ("When Everything Is New") release. He and Phonte have since released their ode to 80's music entitled Zo! and Tigallo Love the 80's! on July 22nd of this year.

'Freelance' is a well-crafted spectrum of music that places a heavy emphasis where it should be...on the music. The album showcases Zo! playing every instrument on each of its 15 tracks. Freelance opens with an up-tempo, ‘ode to the supporters’ entitled “Yooou” which features the sultry vocals of Virginia-based vocalist Tiffany Paige. The energy remains a constant through the molasses-thick groove of “Welcome Home”, the funk riffs of “Overnight Experience” and the 10-minute percussion-heavy movement session of “SwingTime”. From the spacey synth-driven sounds of “I-94 East” to the high adrenaline, broken-beat energy brought by the album’s closer, "Inertia", the album shows incredible range. Zo! has a hunger to create consistently great music and Freelance makes that evident. This array of sound will attract a variety of soul, R&B, hip-hop and jazz fans alike.

This quality-driven and cohesive project is certain to peak the interest of listeners while proving itself solid enough to pass the musical test of time.

The more material I hear from Zo, the more I realize how thorough of an artist he is. This latest album is nothing short of masterful. Freelance has plenty of personality and color. This is how music should be!

The greatest work so far from Zo -- a set that's awash in amazing keyboards, all played with a sound that almost puts Zo at the level of 70s greats like Webster Lewis or George Duke! At some level, there's a really classic Lonnie Liston Smith sort of groove going on here -- one that's flowing and righteous, with lots of warm undercurrents. But at another level, there's some of the sharper edges and more snappingly spacey tones of some of Zo's contemporaries -- particularly those from his hometown scene in Detroit. Yet the blend here is far different than either of those two references might imply -- a melding of modes with whole new results, and an overall sound that's different even than Zo's already great previous work. There's a real deepening of spirit going on here -- a more sophisticated approach that shows that Zo's really been improving his craft over the past few years, and taking his talents for writing and arranging to a whole new level! Many numbers have some sort of a groove, but there's also an equally jazzy sensibility to many tracks too -- as well as a tremendous sense of power that really builds as the album rolls on. A few numbers feature vocals by Tiffany Paige, but most of the set is instrumental -- with titles that include "The Watch", "Welcome Home (parts 1 & 2)", "Time Table", "Rudiment", "Overnight Experience (parts 1 & 2)", "Snare Junction 2.0", "Yooou", and "Inertia".

Zo! Just gets better and better, even though I have to say, his previous Albums were in no way inferior to this latest piece of work. It really is a crime that more people do not know of this genius producer/artist and his vocal assisted tracks just beg for a whole vocal Album to be produced by him.
Definately without fail buy this Album and you will not be disappointed!

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